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Garlic Butter Chicken Meatball Stuffed Spaghetti Squash. A seasonal take on everyone’s favorite pasta and meatballs. Roasted spaghetti squash stuffed with a creamy béchamel sauce. Then infused with homemade Italian-style chicken meatballs and sweet buttery roasted garlic. Everything is baked together until the cheese is melted and the meatballs are cooked perfectly. And it’s all made on just one sheet pan! This dish is an easy, delicious, and healthier way to enjoy pasta and meatball night.
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Say hello to what might be Creighton’s favorite recipe of all time. Just watch my Instagram stories for this recipe. At the end, you will see his love for this recipe. He says it’s like a cheesy meatball sub sandwich only minus the carb-heavy bread (which he tries to avoid).
I’m not sure why he refers to a meatball sandwich and not pasta, but whatever the case, Creighton thinks this is his favorite recipe to date. He’ll be watching the video of this recipe tonight and wishing so badly he could eat this again for dinner.
There’s certainly a lot of all-around love for this recipe. It’s going to be a hard one to top.
I certainly don’t think meatballs and spaghetti squash are a new concept by any means. It’s the way I’ve cooked everything together that I think is a little more special. And while the recipe takes over an hour to create, it’s mostly just time allowing the squash to roast in the oven. This will typically take anywhere from 30-45 minutes depending on the size.
The process is actually relatively simple. Bake the squash with cheese. Then while the squash gets a head start in the oven, mix and form the meatballs. Then add the meatballs to the pan, and cook again.
Using the roasted garlic, make a garlic butter. Then slather it all over the cheesy meatballs and the squash. Use a fork to scrape up the squash and enjoy this wonderful goodness.
Onto the finer details
Step 1: mix the cheese sauce
I love to use a blend of fontina, mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan. Sometimes I’ll use a gouda in place of fontina. It’s a really nice mix of creamy cheeses, but the provolone adds all the flavor, so don’t skip that one. Of course, you can also use your own favorite blend of cheese. Or even pick up a pre-shredded mix from the store to keep things really easy.
Mix the milk with the mozzarella cheese, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. This is our cheese sauce.
Step 2: season and stuff the squash
Ideally, find two smaller spaghetti squash. Think of each half as a personal spaghetti squash boat.
Cut the squash in half, pull the seeds out, and place the squash on a sheet pan. Now season with salt and pepper, add the parmesan cheese, and then the cheese mixture from above.
Arrange a handful of garlic around the squash, then bake everything to get the squash cooking.
Step 3: mix the meatballs
I make mine using ground chicken or ground turkey, Italian seasoning, dijon, and parmesan cheese. Just mix everything together and roll it into meatballs.
Pull the squash from the oven and add the meatballs to the pan. Bake again to cook the meatballs while the squash continues to cook.
Step 4: add cheese and mix the garlic butter
Grab the pan from the oven one last time. This time remove the garlic from the pan. Set the garlic aside.
Next, top the squash with additional cheese and place the cooked meatballs into/on top of the squash. Bake to melt the cheese.
While the squash and meatballs are cooking in the oven, chop the roasted garlic, then mix it with butter and fresh herbs. I love to use a mix of basil, oregano, thyme, and sage.
When you pull everything out of the oven, don’t be worried that the sauce looks soupy. Once you scrape the squash into strands of spaghetti and mix it together with the sauce it’s so delicious.
Spread the garlic butter over the meatballs and mix the rest into the squash. Use a fork to pull the squash into spaghetti. The smell alone will make you so excited.
This is a great recipe for busy weeknights when you want something warm and cozy, but still full of protein and vegetables.
Or serve this up to guests at your next dinner gathering. Either way, it’s perfect for autumn!
Looking for other autumn squash recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon
Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts
Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon.
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo
Lastly, if you make this Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs Stuffed In Spaghetti Squash be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs Stuffed In Spaghetti Squash:
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk or heavy cream
- 6 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed/squeezed dry
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or gouda
- 2 spaghetti squash, halved and seeds removed
- 1 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, pork, or turkey
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 chopped fresh herbs, basil, thyme, oregano/ sage, (fav mix)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. In a bowl, mix together the milk, spinach, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Season with chili flakes, salt, and pepper.3. Place the squash on a baking sheet and season the cut sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan cheese into the bottom of each squash. Then evenly divide the milk/cheese mix among the squash cavities. Cover with foil, bake 15 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, mix the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (makes 15-16 meatballs). 5. Remove the squash from the oven, remove the foil. Arrange the meatballs around the squash. Bake another 15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked. 6. Grab the squash. Remove the garlic from the pan. Sprinkle the provolone cheese over each squash half. Put the meatballs on top of the cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted. 7. Chop the garlic and mix with the butter and herbs in a bowl. Spread the butter over the meatballs, then use a fork to scrape the squash into strands, mixing the cheese with the squash. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hi Tieghan. This recipe looks amazing and I’m looking forward to making it. I highly recommend you fix the written instructions about, as commented by many reviewers, it is missing steps.
Thank you.
I made this last night and mostly enjoyed it. My 5 year old didn’t eat it (too much “green”) but my husband ate his whole half and I’m looking forward to the leftovers for lunch. One thing that may be helpful to add and/or for those looking to make this recipe: I have never cooked a/with spaghetti squash before and for the life of me, could not cut it open when I went to start this making dinner. I had to watch a youtube video. I ended up poking a handful of holes in the squash and putting each squash in the microwave for 5-7 minutes (it helps if you take it out every couple to roll it over so all sides get softened) before I was even able to cut it in half. Also, I cut the ends off which I am realizing now I should not have done as it made the pan messy and stuff spilled out. (Not sure if this is the best way to do it, please advise!)
Also, per some of the other reviewers, the garlic step is missing from the recipe instructions itself but you do speak to it in the Steps above the recipe (in the blog posting).
Thank you so much Nina! I appreciate the feedback! xT
This is a critique I hope you take to heart and maybe take steps to correct here. Please. Please. Please. Proof read your recipes. This isn’t the first time ive made a recipe of yours and there’s a step like “remove the garlic ” without telling me when it got there in the first place. Or there’s a key step about extra initial roasting time at the end of the recipe.
This was watery and messy in my pan while cooking because the meatballs pushed water out of the bowls. Not looking forward to scraping that tonight. It did come together pretty well, just not sure if I’ll make it again.
As many others said, this recipe is missing a step as to when the garlic is added. I started roasting it midway thru the initial squash roast, once I realized the instruction was missing. Then I removed it when she said to and was able to peel it and add to herb butter. It was excellent, absolutely making this again, probably next week. Yummmm!
The spaghetti squash needs at least one hour at 400 degrees in oven to soften for this recipe. I baked the squash and then filled it with the spinach mix mixture using a lessor amount of heavy cream. I made very lean Turkey meatballs but used an egg and dried breadcrumbs and really seasoned the mixture with herbs and one teaspoon of chicken bouillon from a jar. The meatballs were baked before I did the squash. The meatballs were moist and flavorful. I baked three garlic cloves on the pan with the squash for the garlic butter. I finished the recipe per instructions. Due to longer than expected yard work, I had to postpone serving the squash so I covered it and about an hour later reheated each portion in the microwave for two minutes. It was delicious and will definitely make again. Great recipe but needs some tweaks to make it great!
Thank you for letting me know Linda! xT
Hello! When should the garlic be added to the pan? And are the cloves just placed right on the pan?
It’s unclear whether to use 2 whole spaghetti squash or 1 squash cut in half to make 2.
This was a phenomenal dish. I never had Spaghetti Squash before and now I’m a big fan of Spaghetti Squash as I know it’s healthier and not so many carbs….I’m a big fan of Angel Hair Pasta but I know it has a lot of carbs so I try not to eat as much pasta. This dish was colorful, flavorful and filling, it was hard to stop eating it. Good job of putting this recipe together and I certainly will look forward to make more of your unique and delicious meals,
Helen Ann
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
I’m a big fan Tieghan! This recipe was the most challenging of all your recipes I’ve tried…. I’d love to know the approximate weight of the ideal squash for this. I didn’t see what to do with the garlic but I put it, unpeeled, in the pan with the first round of roasting and it worked well. I pre roasted the squash for 30 minutes and it was still kind of crunchy after the actual 50 minutes in the recipe. Having never experienced spaghetti squash, I wasn’t sure if that was how it should be or if I undercooked it. It did shred beautifully though…. I also noticed the 1/2 herbs and figured it had to be a 1/2 cup based on the rest of the butter recipe. Keep them coming!!!
Hey Elizabeth! Thank you so so much for letting me know! I’ll look into reworking this recipe! xT
Also. Please add to the top of the recipe about pre-roasting a larger squash. I didn’t see the Note at the bottom of the recipe until I had already added everything. Otherwise, great recipe. It’s in the final 10-15 minutes baking in the oven now. I hope the squash is cooked enough😩
This recipe was ok overall. Great flavors, process was labor intensive and not great. I made as is and its 3 stars as cheese balled up at the bottom, final product lacked flavor and was watery along with squash undercooked even after an extra 15 minutes. Second attempt I cooked squash separate, made meatballs in air fryer, then made sauce on stovetop with ingredients you used and poured over cooked squash in the end along with some browned butter. Thanks for great combo of flavors T!
Hey Courtney! I’m really sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe, thanks for letting me know! xT
Im trying to follow this step by step but it’s missing what happens with the garlic. Help!
Love this recipe Tieghan!
I’m always looking for good recipes for entertaining and this one tastes amazing but is a little messy for serving – any tips for that? Would pre-roasting the squash make it easy to soft-scrape and scoop out, e.g. without having to hold the squash steady with one hand?
Thank you!!
Yeah, that should work just fine!
Recipe says “1/2 chopped fresh herbs”.
1/2 of what?? 1/2 cup? 1/2 Tablespoon?
Also, you don’t mention when to put the garlic in.
Can you please clarify these steps?
Another winner Ms Teagen! It simply turned out perfect. I used 3 lg spaghetti squash “1/2’s”…. Served the rest of the meatballs on the side & the boys just added them as they were eating (& had room). First meatball I’ve made without egg/breadcrumbs. Turned out great! And she’s right, don’t skip the garlic herb butter!
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Have an amazing week! 🙂 xT
The flavor was outstanding. How can such simple ingredients in the meatballs have such robust flavor? I’m baffled by the reviews that said this was bland. I used heavy cream, which I’m sure contributed. I also made the cheese mixture as written but only used 1 squash. Perhaps that helped with the more concentrated flavor. It was still plenty for three of us and had leftovers. I also only used 1# of chicken and adjusted the quantity of the Italian seasoning and I still had 15 nice sized meatballs. My only suggestion would be to add a step to roast the garlic. I only saw when to remove them from the pan, so I lost 15 minutes of roast time. Otherwise this was so good.
Aw thank yo Christine! So glad you loved this recipe! xT